Martin Worley Group Makes New Investment in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Martin Worley Group bought a new stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,492 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,626,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Connor Financial Group LLC grew its position in Apple by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,775 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $945,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,910 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,235,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 16,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,992,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $202.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. Apple Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $260.10. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $200.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,233,815.27. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,214. This trade represents a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.86.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.